Trailer brakes are not the place to economise, and they're not the place to guess. When you're replacing brake assemblies or hub components on a trailer, you want the right part from a maker you trust, and in the trailer axle world, two names dominate: Dexter and Lippert. Between them they sit under an enormous share of the trailers on the road, and when it's time to replace brakes, one of these two is very often the answer.
Which raises the usual question. Both are major, reputable manufacturers. Both make quality brake components. So how do you choose between them — and does it even matter which you pick?
It does matter, but perhaps not in the way you'd expect. The most important factor isn't which brand is better in some general sense; it's which one matches what's already on your trailer, and what your axle actually requires. This guide walks through both makers, the components each offers, and how to make the choice that keeps you stopping safely.
Dexter is arguably the biggest name in trailer axles in North America, and their brake components are found under a vast range of trailers as original equipment. Dexter's strength is completeness — they make the whole system, from axles to suspension to brake assemblies, and their electric brake assemblies come as complete, ready-to-fit units. When a trailer was built on Dexter running gear, Dexter replacement parts are the natural match.
Lippert, often seen under the LCI name, is the other giant, and they too supply running gear and components across a huge swath of the RV and trailer industry. Lippert's brake hub assemblies and complete hub kits are widely fitted, and their strength is in comprehensive, well-packaged kit solutions — complete hub kits that come with the components pre-assembled and ready to install.
So on paper they're similar: two dominant makers, both supplying quality brake components to much of the industry. The real difference emerges when you look at what's already on your trailer and how each brand packages its parts.
Dexter's approach is exemplified by their complete electric brake assemblies.
The Dexter 12-inch Left Hand Electric Trailer Brake Assembly comes as a complete, ready-to-fit unit designed to make stopping safer and easier, with the whole assembly supplied together.
It has a matching right-hand counterpart for the other side of the trailer, because electric brake assemblies are handed.
The key word is complete. A Dexter brake assembly arrives as a finished unit — the backing plate, the shoes, the magnet, the springs, all assembled and ready to bolt on. You're not building anything up from components; you're fitting a complete, engineered assembly. For a lot of people, that's exactly what they want when replacing worn brakes: take the old assembly off, put the new one on.
Note that the assemblies are handed — left and right. Electric brake assemblies are specific to the side of the trailer they fit, because the magnet and self-adjusting mechanism are oriented accordingly, and you need the correct hand for each side. A tandem-axle trailer needs matched pairs. Getting the hand right is one of the things people overlook, and it matters.
The 12-inch size is one of the common trailer brake diameters, but brake size must match your axle. Dexter makes their assemblies in the range of sizes trailers actually use, and matching the diameter and the axle rating is what determines which assembly is yours.
Buy Dexter 12-inch Left Hand Electric Trailer Brake Assembly
Lippert's approach shows a different emphasis.
The Lippert 12-inch Brake Hub Complete Kit is a complete hub kit for 7,000 lb trailer axles, with an 8 on 6-1/2 inch bolt pattern and half-inch wheel studs, supplied with pre-greased, ready-to-install components.
Where Dexter leads with the complete brake assembly, Lippert's strength here is the complete hub kit — bringing together the hub, the bearings and the associated components as a packaged, pre-greased, ready-to-install unit. The pre-greased detail is a genuine convenience; bearing greasing is a fiddly, messy job, and a kit that arrives ready to fit saves that step and the mess that comes with it.
Lippert also offer the same kit with 9/16-inch studs rather than half-inch, which points to the importance of matching the stud size to your wheels — a detail that has to be right and is easy to get wrong.
The specifications here are precise for a reason: 7,000 lb axle rating, 8 on 6-1/2 inch bolt pattern, specific stud diameter. Brake and hub components have to match the axle's weight rating and the wheel's bolt pattern exactly, and Lippert's kits state those specifications clearly so you can confirm the match before you buy.
Buy Lippert 12-inch Brake Hub Complete Kit
As with any comparison between two quality makers, they win in different situations, and knowing which situation you're in is the whole game.
Choose Dexter when your trailer is built on Dexter running gear, and when you want complete brake assemblies as ready-to-fit units. If the axle under your trailer is a Dexter, matching Dexter brake assemblies is the natural, no-surprises choice, and their complete-assembly approach makes for a straightforward swap. For replacing worn electric brakes on a Dexter-equipped trailer, this is the path of least resistance.
Choose Lippert when your trailer runs Lippert gear, and when the complete, pre-greased hub kit approach suits the job you're doing. If you're replacing hub components and you want the bearings and hub as a packaged, ready-to-install kit, Lippert's comprehensive kits are built exactly for that, and the pre-greased convenience is real. For a Lippert-equipped trailer, matching Lippert is the natural fit.
There's a distinction running through this comparison that's worth drawing out clearly, because it shapes which product you actually need.
A brake assembly — the Dexter example — is the braking mechanism itself: the backing plate, the shoes, the magnet and the self-adjusting hardware that does the work of slowing the wheel. You replace a brake assembly when the braking components are worn out, or the electric magnet has failed.
A hub — the Lippert kit — is the part the wheel and drum mount to, carrying the bearings that let the wheel turn. You replace a hub, or a hub kit, when the bearings are worn, the drum surface is damaged, or you're renewing the whole rotating assembly.
Often a proper brake job involves both, which is why understanding the distinction matters. If your magnets are worn but your hubs are sound, you're in Dexter-assembly territory. If your bearings are shot or your drums are scored, you're looking at the hub kit. And if the whole lot is tired, you may be replacing both — at which point matching everything to the axle specification becomes even more important.
Both brands state their specifications precisely, and it helps to know what each figure is telling you.
The axle weight rating — the 7,000 lb on the Lippert kit, for instance — is the load that axle is built to carry, and every brake and hub component has to be rated to match it. Fit a component rated below your axle, and you've created a weak link in a safety system.
The bolt pattern — 8 on 6-1/2 inch — describes how the wheel mounts: eight studs arranged on a 6-1/2 inch circle. It has to match your wheels exactly, because it's literally how the wheel attaches. The stud diameter, half-inch or 9/16-inch, is the same story at finer grain — the studs have to match the holes in your wheels and the nuts you're using.
And the brake diameter — 12 inch here — has to match your drums. Read every one of these off your existing setup, because they're not preferences, they're fitment requirements, and on brakes a fitment error is a safety error.
Here's the truth that outweighs any brand preference: the single most important thing is matching the replacement to your trailer's existing axle and running gear.
Trailer brakes and hubs have to match a set of exact specifications: the axle weight rating, the brake diameter, the bolt pattern, the stud size, and — for electric brake assemblies — the correct hand for each side. Every one of these has to be right, and a mismatch on any of them is either a part that won't fit or, worse, a brake that doesn't perform as it should on a component where performance is safety.
So before you even choose between Dexter and Lippert, read your axle. Find the axle rating, measure the brake diameter, confirm the bolt pattern and stud size, and identify which side each assembly is for. Very often, that information points you straight to one brand anyway — because matching what's already fitted is usually the safest, simplest route, and the brand under your trailer is frequently the brand you should stay with.
Understanding why trailer brakes wear helps you catch the problem before it becomes a roadside emergency, whichever brand you eventually fit.
Electric trailer brakes wear their shoes and magnets through use, exactly as any brake does, but they also suffer from things specific to trailers. They sit unused for long periods, which lets surfaces corrode. They live down near the road, exposed to water, salt and grit. And they're often neglected, because a trailer's brakes are out of sight and out of mind in a way a car's never are.
The warning signs are worth knowing. A trailer that takes longer to stop, that pulls to one side under braking, that makes grinding or scraping noises, or whose brake controller shows a different draw than it used to — all of these say the brakes need attention. So does a magnet that's worn thin, visible when you pull a drum.
Acting on those signs early is what keeps a brake job a planned maintenance task rather than an emergency. A worn brake caught in the workshop is a straightforward replacement; a failed brake discovered on a descent with a loaded trailer is a different and far more dangerous situation. This is a system to stay ahead of, not to run to failure.
It's worth being direct about this, because brakes are not like other parts. A brake assembly or hub that's slightly wrong doesn't just fit poorly — it compromises your ability to stop a loaded trailer, which is a safety matter for you and everyone around you.
If you're confident reading your axle specifications and you've matched every figure, replacing brake assemblies and hubs is within reach of a capable person. But if there's any doubt — about the specifications, about the condition of the axle, about the wiring on electric brakes — this is a job where bringing in someone qualified is the sensible call. There's no prize for guessing on brakes.
Whichever brand you choose, have the work checked and the brakes properly adjusted and tested before you tow a loaded trailer. A correctly fitted, correctly adjusted brake from either maker will stop you reliably; that's the outcome that matters.
One principle applies to brakes regardless of which brand you choose, and it's important enough to state on its own: brakes should be replaced in matched sets, not one at a time.
If one brake assembly has worn out, its opposite number on the same axle is very likely close behind, and mismatched brakes — one new, one worn, or worse, two different specifications — brake unevenly. Uneven braking on a trailer is a genuine hazard; it can pull the trailer to one side under braking, which at speed with a load behind you is exactly what you don't want.
So when you replace, replace both sides of an axle together, matched. On a tandem-axle trailer, think in terms of complete axles. This is part of why matching the brand and specification matters so much — you want all the brakes on the trailer working to the same specification, wearing at the same rate, and stopping with the same force.
It's also an argument for staying with whatever's already fitted. If your trailer came with Dexter brakes and you're replacing them, keeping everything Dexter means everything matches — same specification, same behaviour, same wear characteristics. The same logic applies to a Lippert-equipped trailer. Consistency across the trailer's braking is a safety feature in its own right.
If your trailer is on Dexter running gear and you're replacing electric brake assemblies, Dexter's complete, ready-to-fit assemblies are the natural match — and the handed left and right units make for a clean swap once you've confirmed the size and axle rating.
If your trailer runs Lippert gear and you're replacing hub components, Lippert's complete, pre-greased hub kits are built for exactly that job, with the specifications stated clearly so you can confirm the bolt pattern, stud size and axle rating.
But the honest headline is the same as with any two quality makers: match what you have. The brand already under your trailer is usually the brand to stay with, because it guarantees the fit, and the fit is what matters on a safety-critical component. Read your axle, match every specification, choose the brand that matches your running gear, and you'll stop safely.
Dexter versus Lippert isn't a question of one maker being better than the other — both are major, reputable manufacturers whose components stop a huge proportion of the trailers on the road. Dexter's strength is complete, ready-to-fit brake assemblies; Lippert's is comprehensive, pre-greased hub kits. Both are quality.
The decision that actually matters is matching the replacement to your trailer's exact axle specifications — the weight rating, brake diameter, bolt pattern, stud size and, for electric assemblies, the correct hand. Get those right, choose the brand that matches your running gear, and either maker will keep you stopping safely.
And treat brakes with the respect they deserve. Match every specification, have the work checked if you're at all unsure, and adjust and test before you tow loaded. Brakes are the one system where getting it exactly right isn't optional.
I’m Bill Rowell, the founder of RVupgrades.com. In 2002, I launched the business to help fellow RV enthusiasts find unique and hard-to-find products. Over the years, it’s grown to offer more than 15,000 items, with a warehouse in Eastlake, Ohio. Having owned and repaired nearly every type of RV, I bring over two decades of hands-on experience to the table. For me, this isn’t just a business – it’s a passion and a way of life that I love sharing with the RV community.
Follow me on LinkedIn